Activists planning “No Bully Iowa” rally at Capitol on Wednesday

A Des Moines activist says he’s organizing a protest at the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday, April 25, as part of an effort to call attention to bullying in Iowa after the death of Primghar teen Kenneth Weishuhn Jr.

The 14-year-old Weishuhn took his life last week. Weishuhn told family and friends that he was gay around one month ago, and reportedly endured weeks of bullying after.

Activist Daniel Bragg, who’s been involved with the Occupy Des Moines movement, says he’s organizing the protest after visiting with legislators and delivering letters at the Capitol last Thursday. Protesters are invited to gather at 10 a.m. on Wednesday on the lower level of the Capitol, and Bragg says the group will then proceed to the rotunda to make speeches.

An uncle of Weishuhn’s will be in attendance at the rally, Bragg said. He says he hopes to spark further conversation about the need for stricter bullying laws in the state.

“It actually kind of bugged me to see that we lost another young kid due to bullying in this state when we shouldn’t be worrying about it,” he said. “This is an issue that needs to be dealt with at the Capitol level now.”

The protest has been organizing via a Facebook group, informally titled “No Bully Iowa.” Bragg says he hopes to see between 100 and 300 people at the protest.

Though it is not formally an Occupy Des Moines event, Bragg says he does expect some members of the Occupy movement to attend.